


Remember

by BaraLinni



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: M/M, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-19
Updated: 2019-10-19
Packaged: 2020-12-24 09:15:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,323
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21097049
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BaraLinni/pseuds/BaraLinni
Summary: Crushed dreams was a risk worth taking to find him again, however many times and lifetimes he would have to endure





	Remember

León tried to hold back the shivers, though he knew by now that it was futile. The shivering would not stop, and his fever would not drop. He was dying, and there was nothing anyone could do. The doctor had said so to Leóns mother.

It had made León's heart hurt almost as badly as the rest of his body, how the doctor had spoken as if he weren't even there. But his heart would probably have hurt even more in this moment, had he had the energy to differentiate which parts of his body hurt the most.

He watched as his mother silently gathered what little food they had left in a satchel. He watched her tie his baby brother in a sling over her chest and grab the hands of two of his sisters. His mother had told the concerned lady from next door that she would not let the sickness take any more of her children, so she was leaving. But León would not be coming with her, and neither would his third sister. They were part of what they were running from, after all.

León figured that it should've made him sad, but he was so tired and sore at this point that it hardly even seemed to matter.

His mother took one last look around the house before she met Leóns eyes for the first time in what must've been weeks.

“May God bring you both sanctuary in His heaven”, she said, and then she turned and walked away.

León blinked at the door, wishing that he could at least have mustered a 'may God bless you' as a farewell, but his throat was too dry and it hurt to even open his mouth.

Instead, he turned what was left of his attention to the sound of his sister's strained breaths behind him. Laying back to back, he felt her every shiver as if they were his own, and he knew that part of them were due to fear. She had told him once in confidence that her one fear was to die alone, and León had assured her that as her older brother, he would make sure that that would never happen.

León willed his arm to move behind his back, searching until he could place their arms next to each other. He would have held her hand, had he been able to, but this would do. His sister breathed as close to a relieved sigh as she would get, and León's lips twitched into a painful smile. Somewhere deep beneath the pain, he was glad that he could at least fulfil his promise. And somewhere even deeper came the sudden feeling that he had made another promise, a long, long time ago.

His sister took a shaky breath and coughed, and the silence that followed was deafening.

León felt a tear run down his cheek.

~~

The new estate that Leofwin's father had acquired was modest in comparison to their regular home, but the flowering gardens and rural location was a welcome change of pace to the hectic city. And there was a perk that Leofwin hadn't been aware of until the day they had arrived: the gardener's son. He was handsome, tanned, hard-working and about Leofwin's age.

And there was something else, some notion too vague to put into words. Though Leofwin had been taught early on by his very realist father that such a wishful thought was just useless fancy, he often found himself wondering if perhaps he and the gardener's son had met before. It could be possible, after all, however improbable. And however much of a useless, wishful fancy it was, this led Leofwin to pay more and more attention to the gardener's son, completely disregarding his father's stern lessons in how to treat your staff like air.

“I can see you watching me”.

Leofwin was jerked from his thoughts by the voice, and he smiled disarmingly at the gardener's boy as he stepped out from his hiding place. “My apologies”, he offered, but the boy just scowled back at him.

“You think you're being sneaky, but I see you watching me all the time”.

“Well, not all the time”, Leofwin defended himself half-heartedly and walked closer. He didn't get very far, though, before the boy raised his hand.

“Don't come any closer”, he demanded, and Leofwin was taken aback by his tone. He sounded... angry. “I may not be much, but it don't take a genius to know what you want from me”.

All right, Leofwin was not following this development. “What do you mean?” he asked, and the boy snorted.

“Yeah, you rich folks're good at playing dumb when it suits you”, he said and Leofwin could see his grip tighten around his rake. “Well, here's some information for you: you may be used to getting whatever you want, but you sure as hell ain't getting me”.

Leofwin had never been this confused in his life. “What are you talking about?”

The boy huffed angrily. “I'm saying”, he began, voice lowering almost to a growl, “that I'm no whore you can seduce for your amusement”.

“... _ Excuse me?_” Leofwin was so aghast at what conclusions the boy seemed to have jumped to that he almost forgot to correct him. “No, you misunderstand”, he explained. “You just seemed familiar, somehow. And I thought that since we're about the same age, we could perhaps become f-”

“Spare me the bullshit, rich kid”, the boy interrupted him, his voice biting cold. “I know your kind, and I'm having no part of it if it so costs me my life”.

“No, please listen-” Leofwin tried, but was interrupted yet again.

“You rich people are all the same”, the boy snapped. “You'd never get what it's like spending your whole life scared shitless that whatever you do will get you beaten or killed by some dick who thinks he rules the world”. He paused for breath, and then he fixed Leofwin with his piercing blue eyes. “The very thought of us two as friends makes me _ sick_”.

Leofwin stared silently into those eyes, burning with icy hatred, and he realised that the notion that this person seemed familiar was absolutely wrong. He was also suddenly filled with the knowledge that whoever the gardener's boy had reminded him of would never treat anyone this way.

~~

Leory had always been a good fighter. One of the best, otherwise he'd hardly have survived this long on his own. But the guy in front of him looked like he would be a tough opponent.

The guy, who claimed he was here on behalf of some gang leader, leered at him. “You sure you should be picking this fight? Almost a shame to ruin that pretty face of yours”.

Leory watched him with disinterest. “The way I heard it, you were the one picking a fight”.

His opponent laughed loudly and cracked his knuckles. “Have it your way, then”, he growled and shifted his stance, and Leory froze.

There was something so strikingly familiar about that stance that it made all his thoughts of fighting evaporate. What was it that it reminded him of? _ Whom_? He felt like he should know, but however hard he tried, he couldn't come up with an answer, and it was driving him insane.

He didn't feel the punch that forced the air from his lungs before he landed on his back.

~~

_ “And I sentence myself to death”. _

Leonard jolted awake, heart hammering in his chest. He knew he had woken up from a horrible dream, but he could barely remember what about. It had been so vivid, in a way that he had never experienced before, but even as he tried to remember, the dream slipped away into oblivion, leaving behind only a feeling that he couldn't describe. He tilted his head. That had a somewhat nice ring to it.

He reached over to light the candle at his bedside, grabbing his notebook and pen as he went. This could not wait until morning if he wanted to capture the right words, the right mood. It had to be now. He tapped the book with the pen before he started to write.

_ A dream of such magnificence I never saw before _

_ The memory eludes me, though wishing to know more _

_ A storm envelopes all my senses, a rush of all there is to life _

_ An indescribable feeling _

He looked over the text and frowned. It felt incomplete. Something was missing. He tilted his head this way and that, but couldn't put his finger on what exactly was wrong or what he could do to remedy it.

Finally, he closed the notebook with a sigh. Clearly, it would not come to him tonight. Perhaps morning would bring the insight he needed.

_Or,_ he thought as he let his wrinkled finger trace the faded ink over paper yellowed by time, _perhaps it would not._

~~

Leonel didn't believe in love at first sight – or in love, for that matter. Desire, sure, and he couldn't deny that he indulged himself, but love? That was somewhat of a foreign koncept to him. So when one day, he spotted a flash of dark hair and felt his heart constrict painfully, it caught him entirely by surprise. So much so, in fact, that he suddenly found himself bolting down the street, that glimpse of hair the only thought on his mind. It looked so familiar, and it pained him not to know why. _Or,_ some part of him whispered, _maybe 'remember' would be a better word..._

Finally, he caught up to the person and, filled with an equal sense of anticipation and dread, he reached out to tap their arm.

The person turned around and smiled uncertainly. “... Can I help you?” he asked, his brown eyes taking in Leonel's probably somewhat dishevelled appearance.

Leonel met his gaze and his heart sank. He shook his head. “Sorry”, he offered meekly, “I thought you were someone else”.

~~

_ “Think of me-” _

_ “Beloved-” _

_ “To death with him!” _

_ “Will you rule with me-” _

_ “Accused of murder-” _

_ “Love of my life-” _

_ “I sentence myself-” _

_ “I love you” _

_ “Alit-” _

“Leo!”

Leo blinked. His head was spinning in every direction and then some, merging the worried faces above him into one continuous spiral. He closed his eyes.

“Holy shit man, are you okay?” he heard one of his friends ask as the weight on top of his arm suddenly vanished.

“'Okay'?” his other friend repeated. “He's lucky to be _ alive, _ his D-wheel almost crushed him!”

Leo listened to them go back and forth as they moved the D-wheel out of the way, but his mind was focused on only one thing. He opened his eyes, and the world had stopped spinning. “I remember now”.

The chattering ceased and his friends turned to look at him.

“... Dude”, one finally said, “that was creepy as shit”.

Leo smiled and slowly brought up a hand to lift his visor.

“Hey, don't move yet!” one of his friends exclaimed and hurried over to crouch beside him, the other following his example.

Leo shook his head. “I'm fine”, he said, and for the first time in a long time, he meant it. He took a deep breath, and the air seemed to smell cleaner than it used to. Even the colours seemed different – brighter, more vibrant even in the shadows of the dingy buildings of Satellite. It was as if suddenly, the world had something more to offer, like his life had a purpose other than simply staying alive.

He sat up carefully, his body feeling lighter than before. He knew that what he was about to ask would sound stupid, especially coming from a guy who just crashed and could be concussed, but he felt like his head would burst if he didn't tell someone about it. He breathed in deeply and met the eyes of his best friends.

“Do you... believe in reincarnation?”

~~

Leonis was running faster than he had ever done before, in this or any other life. It had just been a glimpse from afar, but he was certain that this time, he was right. And he would be damned if he was going to fail now, after all this time. He flew past shops, cars and people, registering none of it, because none of it mattered. The only thing that mattered was to run until he found who he was looking for, or died trying.

A glimpse of dark skin and hair made him skid to a halt and whip around even as he nearly toppled over from his momentum. He stared at the person's back, suddenly scared to death of confronting them only to once again find out that he had been wrong.

Nevertheless, he took one step closer, and then another one. Having his dreams crushed was a risk that he _ had _ to take. It was a risk _ worth _taking, however many times and lifetimes he would have to endure.

He walked even closer, and the person perked up, probably having heard him. They turned their head, and Leonis's heart stopped at the unmistakable glint in those eyes.

Whether he walked, ran or soared the last steps, he wasn't sure, his brain only kicking back into gear once he was standing right in front of Alit. Because it _was _Alit, there was no doubt about it.

Leonis opened his mouth to speak, but it was as if he had forgotten how to form words. His heart and stomach were twisting in all manner of directions, churning, and suddenly, Leonis realised that he had no idea of what to say.

“I...” he began, and then gave a short laugh as a tear trickled down his face. “I don't know if you remember me”.

Leonis felt the familiar touch of a calloused hand on his cheek as Alit wiped the tear away and smiled as brightly as the sun.

“I remember”.

**Author's Note:**

> I thought I'd gotten over these two after all this time. Alas, I was very wrong, and I realised that at 5 am after writing for 3 hours


End file.
